Saturday, January 30, 2010

Trip to CDI

The class took a field trip to the Center for Design Innovation, CDI, in Winston-Salem this past Wednesday. We met with the director, Carol Strohecker, and design researcher, Nickolay Hristov. During a brief presentation and tour, we were shown several rapid prototyping machines and models made from plaster and plastic. It was interesting to hear about the process behind creating these models and the detail able to be achieved. We were also given a computer presentation of motion capture by Nickolay in which he demonstrated the range of wing movement in the Brazilian bat. To capture these images they used a stereoscopic camera.

It was encouraging to see that CDI is currently looking for interns and graduate students to assist with their research and prototyping. The opportunity to intern with CDI is one I will pursue.